Sassafras Camp

Sassafras Camp is located in the rich foothills of Southeast Ohio on a gorgeous property with outdoor camp facilities, a beautiful pond, and surrounded by fields and forest. The forests surrounding our camp facilities are being preserved and managed for native plants and wildlife, and include miles of marked trails specifically designed for nature education. We offer inviting and inspiring educational experiences, grounded in fostering nature connection, self-connection, and connection to others. We do this through experiential hands on education, forest adventures, cooperative and competitive games, yoga, theater, and art. We strive to create an experience that connects children to the natural world, instilling skills and awareness with lifelong impacts.

The environmental education classes at Sassafras Camp are diverse, and are designed to give campers many different opportunities to connect to the natural world. Past activities have included plant walks and environmental conservation, studying native plant-animal interactions, learning about macroinvertebrates and water quality, making medicinal salves and lip balms, nature journaling, shelter building, inspired nature art (Andy Goldsworthy!), basket weaving with wild vines, making natural plant dyes, studying Native American culture and regional artifacts, and much more! Theater arts has also become an important part of the Sassafras experience. Theater gives campers a fun outlet to creatively express themselves through character building and performance, and encourage collaboration and connectivity between the camp family. Short yoga and meditation practices are incorporated daily to relax, inspire, and empower the children. Other daily activities include music and singing, pond play, quiet time and journaling, and capture the flag!

Delicious camp meals and snacks are made with organic and mostly local ingredients.

History:
Sassafras Camp was created by Kathleen Galt in 1993, and ran the camp consecutively for 13 years until retiring in 2006. In 2013, Kathleen’s daughter Lonnie Galt-Theis, revived the camp and is now in her 5th year as director . Following her mother’s format, Lonnie continued to invite local artists and nature experts to teach classes, as well as expanding educational opportunities into new realms. Lonnie envisioned yoga, theater, and healthy food education becoming a more prominent part of the camp and was able to recruit local and regional experts in these fields. Many thanks to Morgan Gotfried, Olivia Strauss, and Becky Clark for their contribution during the first 3-4 years.

United Plant Savers has been a generous supporter of Sassafras Camp and local children by providing need-based scholarships over the past three years. Support their mission of conserving native medicinal plants by becoming a member at unitedplantsavers.org